Saturday, June 23

End of the Week Quote

Nicely timed for the European Council this week the latest survey on public opinion in the European Union has been rushed out, telling us that more people love the EU than ever before.

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This weeks quote is from our old friend Eurobarometer (presumably mercury-free) and the EU Commission. Overall, the three main indicators of attitudes - support for EU membership, perceived benefits of membership and the EU's image - rose in the last six months by 4, 5 and 6 points to 57, 59 and 52 percent respectively and – if you can believe this - the level of trust for the EU Commission and the EU Parliament showed a similar trend, each rising 4 points to 52 percent and 56 percent respectively over the same period.

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Interestingly, support for EU membership in the UK rose by five points (see below). Eurobarometer, of course, is the organisation that predicted a "yes" result for the French and the Dutch on their EU referendums, so you can take the findings with a pinch of salt.

.No doubt, they will also take heart from the finding that there are no EU member countries where more citizens are opposed than are supportive of membership - although Eurobarometer notes "significant minority opposition in the UK (30 percent), Austria (25 percent), Finland and Sweden (both 24 percent) as well as France (21 percent).

Well there you have it this Blog is a part of a ''significant minority'' !